


be prepared

by kalebale



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Family, Fluff, Future Fic, Jake and Mac have a campout, You bet nothing went according to plan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24386113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalebale/pseuds/kalebale
Summary: “We’re gonna have our own campout! In the backyard!”“It’s gonna be so cool!” Mac added on. “We’re gonna build a tent, make a fire, have s’mores, and look at the stars!”Amy bit her lip. If she knew anything about her husband, it was that he was a city kid through and through. “Jake, do you even know how to make a fire? Or set up a tent?”Jake made his way over to his wife, “It’ll be okay. I’m smart, you’re smart, we got the internet. We’re gonna be just fine.”“Hold up. WE?” Amy scoffed, fighting back laughter. “I’m helping with this?”//The Santiago-Peralta's have a campout and you can bet nothing went according to plan.
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	be prepared

Be prepared.

Those were the two words Mac held tightly when he started Cub Scouts just a few years ago. That simple motto reminded him to be ready no matter what life throws at him next.

He did not expect it meant to be ready for the disappointment that came with his troop’s campout being cancelled last minute.

Pouting on the couch, Mac watched his dad from a distance as Jake paced on the phone. It had just been a few minutes but the boy could tell that the campout was not going to happen. He watched his dad remain silent, carefully listening to all the reasoning and details his den leader relayed.

Jake fought back the look of disappointment. Mac had been looking forward to this for weeks. This would mark the first campout without his family there, where the troop would spend all night outside in front of a fire and under the stars, away from the busyness of New York. He would learn how to build said fire, set up a tent, and so much more. For Mac, this was like a rite of passage, his transition from being his parents’ little boy to their young son.

“I understand. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll let him know. Bye,” Jake hung up the phone, making eye contact with a frowning Mac.

“It’s cancelled, isn’t it?”

“Yep, your den leader had a last minute emergency. You’re hanging out with us for the weekend,” An defeated sigh followed as Jake joined his son on the couch, “I’m sorry, pal. I know you were looking forward to this.”

His son refused to look at Jake, arms crossed and staring dead ahead with furrowed eyebrows. “Now I’ll never learn how to build a fire... Or make a tent.”

Reaching his arm around his son, Jake searched for a solution. This weekend was long awaited for, and now cancelled, leaving Mac destroyed. He couldn’t take Mac looking so sad. The sadness would be followed by moping and most likely a whole lot of pent up frustration towards his family members.

The hard part about all of this, according to Jake, was how he felt like he couldn’t be helpful in this situation. He never had experiences like this, not to mention that he also was never a scout like his son. Replicating a cub scout campout was beyond his skill set.

But if it was the one idea that would bring Mac at least some joy this weekend, then he was going to do it. No matter what skills or experience he lacked. His son deserved this.

“Hey pal, I got an idea,” He watched Mac’s frown turn to him, “What if we had our own campout here?”

With the frown immediately disappearing, it was replaced by a raised eyebrow. “Where?”

“In our backyard, duh! I think Uncle Charles still has a tent from his camping trip with Nico. And! And! We can grab wood from the store and build a fire!”

“You know how to build a fire?” Mac remained skeptical of the whole plan.

Jake pulled back his arm, shrugging a small bit. “Well, not exactly.. But YouTube knows!”

Mac thought about it, somewhat accepting the plan but with one last reservation. “But what about my badge?”

“You’ll get a badge. Promise,” Jake held up two fingers before giving a serious face to his son, “Scouts honor. What do you think, pal?”

Giving one last second of thought, Mac grinned and nodded. “Let’s do it.”

* * *

Amy bounced their seven month old on her knee while trying to get the last remaining bits of paperwork done. It was rare for her to have work at home nowadays; but with a new case that came in yesterday, work now followed her home and slowly intruded their lives. Though bringing her work home was the last thing she wanted, Amy did her best to make sure that her family came first.

Their four year old, Lucy, skipped down the hall, two pigtail braids swinging as she went. Mac was going to be gone that night and she was going to have her parents all to herself. She anticipated a night full of cuddles (once Charlie was put down, of course), a few extra stories, and being the center of her parents’ world for one night.

“Whatcha working on, Mommy?” She stood at the side of the couch, peaking over Charlie to see what on the computer screen.

Amy looked away from the screen and gave a soft smile to her middle child. “A really big case. What’s up?”

“Can we read a book? Pretty please?” Lucy immediately turned on the Peralta puppy dog eyes, adding on a full pout for some dramatic effect.

“You know I would love to, babe,” Amy caressed Lu’s cheek with her free hand, “But I need to work on this for a little bit longer. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” With some defeat written across her face, Lucy did her best to shrug it off before plastering on the biggest smile. Her arms wrapped around Amy’s neck, barely avoiding Charlie in the process. “You’re still the bestest Mommy in the whole world!”

The mother chuckled, patting Lu’s back and watched her fall back to sit on the couch. “Thanks Lu. Could you play with Charlie until Daddy gets home? Then we’ll have some dinner and we can read as many books as you want tonight.”

“Deal! Come here, Charlie,” Lu’s voice changed to a baby one while taking the youngest from their mother to play on the ground.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief as the two began to play quietly. She just bought herself a few more minutes of focus to dedicate to this case. These were the moments she was forever grateful that Lucy was like a mini-mom, wanting to play with Charlie and help out whenever Amy needed it.

Those focused minutes would soon be interrupted as her boys barged through the front door, arms full of brown paper bags with a pack of firewood struggling to stay under Jake’s arm. Amy was caught off-guard, rushing over to grab the firewood before Jake dropped it.

“Hey you two.. Mac, aren’t you supposed to be at your campout?”

Mac shook his head as his grin remained, thinking of his dad’s plan. “Nope! It got cancelled!”

“Den leader’s in the hospital! He’s been puking all day!” Jake’s grin mimicked his son’s as they made their way to the dining room to put down their bags.

“I don’t see why you two are so happy about that?” Amy watched them from a distance.

Jake and Mac threw their arms around each other, way too proud of what they were about to announce next.

“We’re gonna have our own campout! In the backyard!”

“It’s gonna be so cool!” Mac added on. “We’re gonna build a tent, make a fire, have s’mores, and look at the stars!”

Amy bit her lip. If she knew anything about her husband, it was that he was a city kid through and through. The woods, outdoors, nature? Those were not really up his alley. “Jake, do you even know how to make a fire? Or set up a tent?”

“Tent came with instructions, per Charles and his excitement about our little adventure,” Breaking off from Mac, Jake made his way over to his wife, “It’ll be okay. I’m smart, you’re smart, we got the internet. We’re gonna be just fine.”

“Hold up. WE?” Amy scoffed, fighting back laughter. “I’m helping with this?”

“Yeah! The more, the merrier!” He took her hand, “We have enough supplies for all five of us tonight.”

“Plus lots of chocolate for s’mores!” Mac turned to pull out a pack of Hershey bars followed by some Reece’s and Snickers. “Dad said we get to experiment!”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!” Jake continued to persuade his wife.

“I mean, yeah, it would be fun but,” She shook her head, “Jake, I have a really big case that I’ve been working at all day. And I kinda need to focus on that tonight.”

From the ground, Lucy shook her head, looking up to her parents with pleading eyes. “And there’s bugs outside! And mosquitos! And it’s gonna be really cold!”

“We’ll bring lots of blankets. And we got the bug spray that doesn’t smell really gross,” Jake replied, still putting on a smile despite his girls’ initial thoughts.

Mac joined his father again while wearing the same sad yet persuasive puppy dog eyes Lucy did earlier and looking at Amy. “Please Mom? I really want you there.”

“What about your sisters?” Her eyebrow raised at him again.

“They can come if that means you’ll come,” Mac pleaded once more, “Please Mom?”

“Yeah, please Mom?” Jake pouted too. Damn those sad Peralta puppy looks they all had.

She was cornered now, torn between her work and her boys. This would make their weekend so more exciting than just laying around and doing nothing but playing the Switch and binging whatever series of movies Jake picked out next. And it would make Mac so much happier after receiving that disappointing news earlier. And that case could wait until tomorrow. Her boys couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

Her demeanor changed from being skeptical to fully in. “Well, your dad can’t set up a tent or build a fire by himself.. I’m in.”

“But Mommy! The mosquitos!” Lucy chimed in once more, scowling at the three of them.

Amy picked up their daughter before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You’ll be okay, babe. Plus you heard Daddy--he got the good stuff.”

Mac threw his arms around Amy, resting his head alongside her hip. “You’re the best Mom.”

* * *

“Ames, that’s.. That’s not the opening. That’s the top.”

It had been an hour since the family ventured out into the backyard. Mac and Lucy watched from a distance as their parents struggled to get the tent up and running, proclaiming that they were on Charlie duty as the baby played in the pack and play.

“Well that means we have to flip it again..” Amy sighed in defeat as they continued to struggle with the tent.

The couple soon found themselves fully under it, struggling to find which side went where and the place to start inserting the poles. Amy thought that she’d be an asset on this new adventure. Jake had no experience whatsoever with camping, but Amy at least had some due to their family camping trips every summer growing up in addition to her brothers constantly “roughing it out” in their backyard.

But that fact was slowly being disproved as the tent conquered them, leaving her more frustrated than when they first started.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this, Jake.”

“We’re doing this for Mac, remember?”

“Yes but..” She eventually got out from underneath, examining the side she held now and hoping it was the opening they needed to face out. “What kind of tent did Charles give us?”

“One that only Boyles know how to set up,” Jake soon joined her on the outside while laying his side on the ground. “Ha! There we go. Put down your side and then we can get the poles in.”

“You’re building the fire next,” Amy, putting her side down, replied as she grabbed one of the bendable poles before sliding it into its respective area.

“That’s the plan. If I can’t trust you with a tent, how could I trust you with a fire?” He jeered at her, a sly smile staring her down.

Amy sighed, shaking her head with a playful smile. “At least I’d be able to start it. Let’s see how you do, Mr. Bear Grylls.”

“You’ll see, Ames. You’ll see.” Jake turned to his kids, “Hey you two, why don’t you come help us?”

Mac shrugged at the scene, popping another part of the chocolate bar in his mouth. “Well, we would but..”

“But what?”

Lucy, chocolate spread across her mouth, pointed at the tent, raising her eyebrow. “Is the tent supposed to look like that?”

Jake looked down at it and cocked his head to the side. What were his kids talking about? It looked right. All the poles were in the right places, the door was at the front.. Then--

“Ames, it’s inside out.”

//

With their tent in place, Mac and Jake were around the makeshift fire pit as Jake carefully staked the logs in a square. It only had taken three YouTube videos and a quick WikiHow article to figure out the best way to go about getting their fire going. Mac watched carefully but still convinced his father did not really know what he was doing.

“Hey Dad?” Mac’s finger held his spot in his Cub Scout handbook, their so-called academic source for the night. “Our handbook says that we should build our fire in a fire ring.”

Jake stepped back to look at their pit. A ring of medium sized rocks found from around the backyard, the logs they bought earlier in the evening, and some newspaper and other paper materials to the side to help keep the fire alive later on. Amy had released her control over the situation, allowing Jake to set everything up the way he thought it was supposed to go.

He shook his head while pulling out a lighter from his pocket. “This is a fire ring! We got rocks, we got the wood, and we got the lighter!”

“But the book says--”

“It’s okay, Mac,” Amy held Lucy and Charlie in her lap, snickering at the scene unfolding. They sat multiple feet away to avoid the forthcoming danger. “We’re doing things ‘the Jake way’ tonight, right Jake?”

“Yeah! The Jake way!” He then turned to lean down before whispering to Mac, “Go get the hose.”

“Why? Do you think the fire isn’t gonna be safe?”

“No, it’s.. It’s just in case.” Jake held up two fingers again. “Be prepared, right?”

Mac nodded reluctantly, biting his lip at the same time. “I guess.”

With the hose in hand, Mac stood beside Jake as he leaned down to start the fire. The end of the lighter snuck its way through a small hole in the stacked logs, soon catching fire to some kindling inside. Jake soon pulled it out before standing back beside his son, putting his arm around his son and beaming with pride at what they just created.

“Look at what we made, pal,” He patted Mac’s shoulder, “That is your first fire.”

Mac watched, looking between the fire and his dad. Never in a million years would he imagine his dad teaching him how to set up a tent as well as build a fire. Tonight, he was seeing the coolest part of his dad come out. Being a detective was already pretty cool. But choosing to do all this with Mac and at the last minute? That was pretty dang cool.

A small ember popped out from the makeshift ring, hitting some freshly mowed grass from earlier that week. Mac’s eyes widened as he tried to respond to the situation.

“Dad, an ember-- It got out--”

Not soon after Mac’s struggle to relay what happened was the fire slowly starting to get out of control. Jake reached for the hose as Mac sprinted towards the spigot to turn it on. Water came out seconds later, extinguishing the flames before them. The girls watched in awe with Amy about ready to run in the house with them and almost about to call 911.

The boys then looked at the burned ground before them as well as the soaked wood. Jake saw Mac’s shoulders fall in defeat. There went any dreams of roasting marshmallows around an open fire while looking up at the sky and searching for constellations.

“It’s all ruined, Dad...”

Jake got down on one knee and turned Mac to face him. He watched as a few loose tears fell from his son’s eyes. “Hey, hey, hey.. It’s gonna be okay.”

“But the fire’s gone and me and Lu ate all the chocolate so we can’t really have s’mores and I’m pretty sure you and Mom still didn’t put up the tent right..” Mac shook his head. “We’re never gonna have a campout.”

“Mac, pal..”

Mac pushed Jake away before going inside, closing the door behind him. From the side, Amy watched her son mope inside, assuming he was going upstairs and into his room for the night. Giving Lucy the baby, she sent the younger girl inside to play in the living room.

She hated seeing Mac so down. Nothing had gone his way today. Any control he had, even over the events of their make-shift campout, had left his grasp. There was something they could do. Her gut was rarely wrong, especially in moments like this.

The couple met halfway in the backyard. Whenever Mac was down, you can bet Jake might be down too. And after tonight, Amy could not imagine the guilt he carried that he couldn’t make this night perfect for their son. He just wanted to be the best dad out there, and he was convinced he failed tonight.

His few escaped tears were wiped away by Amy’s thumb as she began to speak, “Before you say anything, none of this is your fault.”

“I just wanted him to have the best campout. With me,” Jake held back more of his tears. “I never got to have this as a kid. My dad was always gone and having sex with some random woman somewhere in the world.. I just wanted to give my kid what I couldn’t have.”

She cupped his cheek while rubbing her thumb against it. “And you did. If you didn’t step up and offer to do a campout, Mac would’ve had to wait maybe another year or so until he could do it again.”

He refused to believe her words as his eyes remained glued to the ground. Amy continued in hopes that Jake would look up at her. “You didn’t fail him. I need you to know that. I need you to look at me and tell me you know you didn’t fail him.”

“I can’t.”

“Jake,” Her finger pulled up his chin, “You did not fail Mac. Say it.”

A sigh escaped his lips. His eyes shut tight and his lip trembled. “I did not fail Mac.”

“And I am still a good father to all my kids.”

“Ames..”

“Jake, I need to know you believe this.”

Jake sighed once more, “I am still a good father to Mac, Lu, and Charlie.”

“And I’ll figure out a way to make this all work.”

“I’ll figure out a way to make this all work.” He opened his eyes to meet her loving look. “Do you really believe all that about me?”

She nodded, “You are the best dad for our kids. I know that they will never doubt if they are loved because you show them day in and day out how much you love them. You sit with Mac as he works on homework and actually help him with it, you drop everything to play with him and the girls when they ask, you lay in bed with them when they have nightmares... You are an incredible dad. You did not fail our son. And you can figure this out.”

“Only because I have the best partner at my side,” Jake’s goofy grin returned before her hand fell.

“Now, our son has a badge to earn. If you fix the tent, I can make the fire work. And I can run with the girls to the store really quick to grab some more chocolate,” Amy folded her arms. “But I think you need to go up and talk to Mac. He needs you right now.”

* * *

“Hey Mac, can I come in?” After a soft knock, Jake rested his head against the door in hopes to have his son let him in.

Mac’s meek response prompted Jake to enter, finding the boy sprawled out on the bed. His scouts cap lay lopsided on his head with some curls escaping and getting in the way. Jake leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and head somewhat down.

“Do you wanna be done with the campout?”

“Not really,” The boy began to sit up before taking off his hat entirely. “It just felt like nothing went right.”

“You’re right. Nothing went right,” Jake walked towards the bed. “I’m sorry your campout didn’t go your way and lots of things went wrong. I have no clue what I’m doing.”

Mac chuckled with a weak smile, “I know. Thanks for trying.”

“Anything for you,” Jake sat at the edge and ruffled Mac’s hair. “Has your den leader talked about what “be prepared” means?”

As Mac shook his head, the father continued. “Well, I looked it up ‘cause I was kinda wondering what it meant and why it was important to be prepared. And it means that you are ready for anything that comes your way.”

“Even inside-out tents and our backyard being lit on fire?”

Jake laughed, “Especially inside-out tents, backyards on fire. And even dads who don’t really know what they’re doing. Whatever happens, you are prepared and know what to do next. So, Mr. Mac, what’s next?”

After some thinking and putting his cap back on, Mac jumped off the bed to face Jake, a spring back in his step. “We’re gonna fix the tent and follow the instructions Uncle Charles gave us. And then..” He paused, lost at the next step.

Jake stepped back in. “We might be able to use the grill and make s’mores that way. What do you think?”

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

Back in the backyard that night, the family of five found themselves around the grill, laughing at the events of the day while snacking on the treats before them. While the boys were able to set the campout back up, the girls had been successful in their search for more s’mores supplies. Everything seemed perfect. Jake watched as his wife belly-laughed at their daughter’s sugar high antics and his son roasting the next few marshmallows for them. This was one of the moments he didn’t want to miss.

Before long, Jake joined his son at the grill, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, pal.”

“I know,” Mac paused and looked up at his dad, “Thanks for helping me today. This was way better then what our den had planned.”

“Really?”

Mac nodded, “Yeah. Our leader said we were gonna go to bed early. And no marshmallows or s’mores. It was gonna be really lame.”

Once more, Jake looked on, proud of his son. He was one cool kid, and he was his and Amy’s. They would get to watch him grow up and figure out life. They get to walk alongside him in the hard moments. They get to rejoice in the good ones. Man, Jake couldn’t help but think of how lucky it is.

His hand reached into his pocket, feeling the paperclip in his palm. “So I promised you a merit badge for today.”

Taking the stick from Mac and putting it on the table beside them, Jake got on his knee and pulled out the paperclip attached to a soda cap. “This here is the Mac badge. It is awarded to people who figure out hard moments and make the best out of them. They were always prepared. And today, you did that. I’m really proud of you, pal.”

The paperclip was pinned in place on Mac’s uniform, with the boy admiring his newest addition to his awards. This one would be one of a kind while reminding him of the first campout he and his dad had, the one where he learned just how far his dad would go to make sure Mac was loved and happy.

And you bet Mac wouldn't trade his dad for the world. Even if he didn't really know how to make a fire.


End file.
